Back From the Dead

Image credit: Mitchell Haddad

Skeet Ulrich, Clare Carey, Ashley Scott, and coexec producer Karim Zreik

Off an industrial block in the bowels of L.A.'s San Fernando Valley lies the quaint main street of Jericho, the dusty Kansas burg at the center of CBS' postapocalyptic drama. For weeks, this town was deserted, thanks to the bomb that CBS dropped last May: sudden cancellation. But on July 23, EW was there for an exclusive look as the cast and crew of Jericho — like the citizens of the titular town — reassembled, rebuilt, and...hugged each other, celebrating the headline-grabbing fan campaign that led CBS to bring Jericho back to life. ''I had more butterflies in my stomach than I expected,'' says star Skeet Ulrich, who's covered in dirt as he takes a breather from filming his first scenes back as black sheep-turned-town leader Jake Green. ''And yet it feels like this is how it was supposed to be, in an odd way.'' Echoes costar Ashley Scott (Jake's love interest, Emily), ''It's nerve-racking. We feel like we have a greater responsibility.''

NEXT PAGE: The fans go nuts